Outlines

What Is an Outline?

An outline, in its simplest form, is a sketch of your paper. Think about the word “outline.” It means that some things are not filled in. An outline can be anything from a connect-the-dots drawing to a coloring-book-style drawing. It just depends on the level of detail in the outline.

Why Should I Make an Outline?

Making an outline can help you to think through difficult essay topics. By spatially organizing your ideas, you can see how each sentence relates to the sentences around it. Also, because outlining forces you to make sense of the flow of ideas and facts in your paper, your paper will be easier for others to read and understand.

How Do I Make an Outline?

An outline will, at the very least, consist of the titles of the paragraphs. Usually, it contains much more information than that. A detailed outline breaks a paragraph down to its most basic level: sentences. Here is an example from the typical style of a five-paragraph paper.

Example: Detailed Outline of a Paragraph

If you outline your paper to this level of detail, all you have to do is delete the outline format and add in a few transition words to smooth things together, and you have your paper!

However, not every outline needs to be or should be as detailed as the example above. Sometimes all you need is a quick organizing of ideas, and the paragraphs will form as you turn the ideas into sentences.

Example: An Analysis of Music at a Baseball Game

How Do I Use My Outline?

The answer to this question depends on how detailed your outline is. If it is as detailed as the first outline, it may be a faster process to turn your outline into a full-fledged draft. If it is like the second, you will need to put more effort into writing to come up with a functional first draft. However, don’t use your first draft from outline as your final paper! Read through your paper and edit it.

 

Click here to download a PDF version of this page.